Cinema legend Omar Sharif is laid to rest at solemn Egyptian funeral after dying of a heart attack aged 83
- Omar Sharif died on Friday aged 83 after suffering a heart attack in Cairo
- Rose to fame in classics such as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia
- Funeral held in in grand mosque in eastern Cairo on Sunday morning
- In recent years the star, suffering from Alzheimer's, revealed he was lonely
Legendary actor Omar Sharif has been laid to rest in his native Egypt at a solemn funeral in a Cairo mosque on Sunday.
Close friends and family paid respects to the cinema legend who will forever be remembered as the eponymous Doctor Zhivago and as Sharif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia.
Sharif died at the age of 83 on Friday after suffering a heart attack in an upmarket Cairo clinic following years of struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
Scroll down for video
Rest in peace: Mourners carry the coffin of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif for a funeral procession at the Hussein Tantawi Mosque in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday
Cinema legend: Omar Sharif, famous for his roles in Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, died on Friday after suffering a heart attack aged 83
The funeral was held at the grand mosque of Mushir Tantawi in an eastern neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital, where key religious ceremonies are often held.
Sharif's remains will be buried later at El Sayeda Nafisa cemetery in the city's south.
The service was attended by a group of Sharif's relatives, friends and Egyptian actors, his casket draped in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud.
'Omar Sharif represented Egypt to the world in the best possible way,' said Hussein Fahmy, a popular Egyptian actor who attended the funeral.
Zahi Hawass, the prominent archaeologist and former Egyptian antiquities minister, said he had 'lost a close friend' while 'the world lost a great actor'.
Laid to rest: The funeral was held at the grand mosque of Mushir Tantawi in an eastern neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital, on Sunday morning
Holy ceremony: A Muslim cleric prays over the coffin of 83-year-old actor Sharif during his funeral
Family: Tarik Sharif, second from right, son of Omar Sharif, looks on during his father's funeral
Sharif's death came six months after that of his ex-wife and iconic Egyptian actress, Faten Hamama, known as the 'Lady of the Arabic Screen'.
Born Michel Demitri Shalhoub, a Christian, Sharif converted to Islam to marry Hamama - who he described as the only love of his life.
The couple had a son, Tarek, before divorcing in 1974 when Sharif, already famous in his homeland, launched a career in Hollywood.
He never remarried.
The winner of two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean's 1962 epic 'Lawrence of Arabia,' Sharif captivated audiences worldwide for more than half a century.
Sharif was known for his debonair style, raffish good looks and often mischievous joie de vivre, but he will be remembered forever as the eponymous 'Doctor Zhivago'.
Tributes poured in after the news of Sharif's death.
In memoriam: The service was attended by a group of Sharif's relatives, friends and Egyptian actors, his casket draped in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud
Press: Photographers and journalists reportedly outnumbered mourners at the funeral on Sunday
'He was handsome, sophisticated and charming. He was a proud Egyptian,' American star Barbra Streisand, who starred alongside Sharif in 1968's 'Funny Girl', wrote on Facebook.
'I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Omar, and I'm profoundly sad to hear of his passing.'
Fluent in six languages and also famous for his skills at playing the card game bridge, Sharif began acting in the 1950s.
His most high-profile roles were in the 1960s when he won an Oscar nomination for 'Lawrence of Arabia' and Golden Globes for the same film and for 'Doctor Zhivago'.
Sharif played the hero in the epic adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel of tortured passions during the Russian Revolution, with his son Tarek playing his younger self.
Omar Sharif, here with Julie Andrews in 1974's The Tamarind Seed, threw away his promising career in favour of gambling and carousing
Gaining fame: Lawrence of Arabia, with Peter O'Toole, in 1962 was his first international film
Sharif, pictured with Catherine Deneuve in Mayerling (1969), eventually gave up on acting, becoming a world-class bridge player and largely devoting time to gambling instead
His big break: Sharif is pictured above alongside Julie Christie in Doctor Zhivago, aired in 1965
Sharif kept working over the following decades, often in television movies, and in later years became equally renowned for his prowess as a bridge player and owner of thoroughbred racehorses.
'I'd rather be playing bridge than making a bad movie,' he once said, before announcing in 2006 that he had given up the game.
Sharif had a triple heart bypass in 1992 and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994, according to the IMDb movie database website. The 100-cigarettes-a-day smoker quit after the operation.
Sharif made something of a comeback in 2003 in the title role of the French film 'Monsieur Ibrahim', playing an elderly Muslim shopkeeper.
The performance won him a best actor award at the Venice Film Festival and the best actor Cesar, France's equivalent of an Oscar.
